Former Foes Now the Best of Friends : College basketball: Raymond Tutt and Michael Dean once battled for the state scoring title. The freshmen have helped propel Azusa Pacific to a 9-2 start.

When basketball players Raymond Tutt and Michael Dean were high school seniors in the South Bay, their relationship was one of adversaries.

Tutt played for San Pedro and Dean for nearby Torrance and about the only thing they knew about each other was that they were in competition for the state scoring title. That created a rivalry.

“I didn’t really know him in high school,” Dean said. “But people would tell me about Tutt scoring 42, so I felt like I had to go out and score 43. It was more of an unspoken (rivalry).”

Dean wound up winning the battle, averaging 32.9 points to finish just ahead of Tutt’s 32.5.

Little did the players realize that they would soon be playing college basketball together at Azusa Pacific, a small liberal arts school that has one of the top teams in the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics.

Or that they were destined to become the best of friends.

They were originally hoping to play at NCAA Division I colleges, and both were recruited by top programs.

Tutt, a 6-foot-4 swingman, was recruited by USC, UC Santa Barbara, Pepperdine, Washington and Santa Clara. Dean, a 6-0 point guard who had been a shooting guard in high school, was sought by USC, Pepperdine, Arizona State and Cal State Fullerton.

But the plans of both players changed because of academic problems.

Tutt would have been ineligible to play for a Division I team because he didn’t meet the NCAA’s Proposition 48 requirements, although Dean could have qualified.

“Michael could have gone to a Division I school, but his (Scholastic Aptitude Test) score came in so late that many schools backed off in fear that he wasn’t going to pass,” Azusa Pacific Coach Bill Odell said.

So how did they wind up at Azusa Pacific?

Dean, 19, said it was by the process of elimination that he settled on the Cougars.

“After I couldn’t go to an NCAA school, I wanted to go on to a top NAIA school, and the top NAIA school in this area is Azusa Pacific,” he said.

Tutt, 18, said he also had Azusa, which was ranked No. 7 in the NAIA in a preseason poll, in mind.

It was Dean who signed a national letter of intent with the Cougars first, and he was excited when he learned that Odell was also recruiting Tutt.

“I signed maybe three weeks before Tutt signed, and I was sitting in the coach’s office one day and he asked me: ‘What do you think about Raymond Tutt?’ and it just blew my mind,” Dean said.

That made Dean more assured about his decision and also planted the seeds for a growing friendship.

“I would’ve been the only freshman here, but as soon as I knew Tutt would be here I knew he would be my buddy,” Dean said.

Odell said the players have different personalities. Dean is outgoing, Tutt more introspective.

“In terms of personality, it’s like night and day,” Odell said. “But there’s obviously a bond between the two. They were competitive on paper last year, but now they’re in a new situation away from home and they’ve bonded together.”

Considering that it is their first year in college and their first time away from home, the friendship couldn’t have developed at a better time.

Tutt said the adjustment of competing at a small college hasn’t been as difficult as he expected.

“On this campus, everybody knows you and they treat you like you’re a star,” he said. “They treat you like you’re important and not just another individual. It’s like you’re not in the real world. It makes the adjustment (to college) easier.”

But Dean admitted that the adjustment has been difficult at times for both of them.

“If Tutt wasn’t here, I’d probably have a $500 phone bill home every month,” he said.

The adjustment on the court has been going more smoothly for them.

Both are playing 18 to 20 minutes a game in a reserve role. Tutt averages 11 points and Dean 9.2, including 25 points against The Masters on Nov. 30.

Odell said they have helped improve a team that already had an abundance of talent. The Cougars, who were 30-4 and ranked No. 1 in the NAIA for three weeks last season, are 9-2, including a win over defending NCAA Division II champion Cal State Bakersfield.

“They have given us added depth that we needed, but both of them are infectious when they play,” Odell said. “Their personalities are exciting. You have to like them because they’re just so refreshing to have around.”

With his unaccustomed role at point guard, Dean said he has had to mature quickly as a player.

“The biggest adjustment is the guys at this level are stronger and coach Odell’s offense is so complicated,” he said. “It has to be done right or it’s not going to work. Being so young and having to run the offense is very difficult.”

Tutt said he has improved the most on defense since joining the Cougars.

“I think both of us have picked up our defensive skills,” he said. “I feel that for me, anyway, the other parts of my game were overlooked in high school. With as many points as we got, people just looked at our scoring and that’s it.”

While both players appear to have made the adjustment to college both on and off the court, they admit that they often wonder what it would be like to play for a major college.

“I had to compromise my goal of playing Division I basketball,” Dean said. “We both got a lot of flack for going to Azusa Pacific. A lot of people said to us: ‘Why don’t you wait a little longer? Next year you can go big-time.’

“It’s hard to look in the paper and see other people we know playing Division I ball. I still have no doubt I can play at that level, but everyone has to take their own route.”

Tutt had similar feelings.

“At first, I felt like it was a big drop,” Tutt said. “But I have to take it as a learning experience and I think bigger and better things will come to me if I work hard enough.”

But they agreed it is better than the alternatives of being a Proposition 48 player at an NCAA school or playing for a community college. Dean said he has also been doing much better in school, with a 3.0 grade-point average, since he arrived in Azusa.

“The winning program and the success we’ve had in school helps a lot,” Dean said. “Plus, our coach is such a great man. He’s so easy to talk to and he’s like a father figure to us.”

If Dean and Tutt continue to progress, they figure to crack the starting lineup at Azusa by next season.

For the moment, they said they are content to play a significant role with one of the top teams in the NAIA.

That could change in the future, but they say that one fact will remain constant.

“We don’t know what our future holds, but we have a friendship that will last forever,” Tutt said.